“Federal authorities say they are investigating a report about a bogus letter purportedly written by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to at least one Vermont gun store claiming the U.S. Government was temporarily suspending the Second Amendment right to have guns,” the Vermont Daily Chronicle reported Monday.
It goes beyond Vermont. A version of the letter targeted to Houston-area Federal Firearms Licensees is embedded below.
“Constitutional rights are a privilege for American citizens, not a guarantee,” the purported “Notice of Enhanced Protection Policies for Homeland Security Agents,” dated Jan. 26, begins. Citing its purpose “to better safeguard the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during upcoming deployment actions,” it declares, “the United States Government is instituting a temporary suspension of the rights granted by the Second Ammendment [sic] of the United State Constitution.”
Not knowing how to spell “Amendment” is a major clue. It then mandates the FFL and employees to:
- [I]mmediately provide a full inventory and record of any and all firearms located on site, along with a log of any personnel with access to said firearms. Failure to comply or providing an inaccurate account may subject you to criminal prosecution.
- Declare firearms being caried and surrender them. “Failure to do so in a timely manner will be interpreted as a deliberate act of domestic terrorism, which may result in both prosecution and aggressive response by government officers.”
- Display the notice “until rescinded,” noting “Removal … will be considered destruction of government property and will result in prosecution.”
This is obviously a clumsy attempt at stirring the pot and creating divisions between the administration and Second Amendment supporters. That it follows high-profile events in Minneapolis and ill-conceived statements by administration officials disparaging armed citizens makes looking into who is behind this spreading effort and their political motivations worth investigating, including if the intent has anything to do with sowing distrust before the midterms.
It didn’t work in Vermont, where the targeted FFL, Green Mountain Sporting Goods, immediately smelled a rat and contacted ATF, which issued a statement that it is “aware of an obviously fraudulent letter” and encouraging “questionable correspondence” to be reported.
There was a similar response to the Houston letter, with this email accompanying it:
—– Forwarded Message —–
From: “[email protected]”
Sent: Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 12:23:02 PM EST
Subject: ATF FFL ALERT – FFL NOTICE HOAX
This is an important message from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We are aware of the “Notice of Enhanced Protection Policies for Homeland Security Agents” placed on an FFL’s door. We have confirmed with HSI this notice is a hoax. ATF is committed to working with our FFL partners. If you have any questions, please contact your local ATF office. See attached for an example of the hoax.
It remains to be seen if anyone in the FFL community will be dumb enough to fall for this. If any gun store has the fake notice posted, perhaps that’s an indication it’s not a safe place to entrust with business or personal data. There’s also no word at this time on what DHS and the FBI intend to do about this should they be able to identify the perpetrator(s).
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
